UPLAND – With Thursday’s key Baseline League wrestling dual meet between Upland and Alta Loma starting with the 130-pound weight class, Upland coach Bob Irwin knew his team was going to need a lead when it came back around to 103 pounds.

“They’re just so strong at the lower weights,” Irwin said.

But Irwin’s best-laid plans did not pan out.

Alta Loma not only showed its strength at the lower weights, but depth throughout the lineup and downed Upland 51-24 at Upland High.

“I actually think we’re a stronger tournament team than a dual team,” coach Tom Guenther said. “We’ve got some solid individuals. We’ve only wrestled in individual tournaments this year, and I think that will help us at the end of the year.”

Alta Loma (2-0 overall, 2-0 league) hasn’t wrestled any dual matches outside of league, but the Braves have dispatched two of their stronger league opponents in Etiwanda (43-27 last week) and Upland with relative ease in the first two weeks of league.

Alta Loma never trailed on Thursday. After three matches, the Braves led 10-6, but then took control, with three consecutive pins: 145-pounder Eli Mack (four minutes, 49 seconds), 152-pounder Jacob Leon (5:10) and 160-pounder Elijah Anderson (1:28).

“I thought 160 was big, because we got caught in a head-and-arm,” Irwin said.

Alta Loma won 10 of the 14 matches as well as the only close ones. At 189 pounds, Upland’s Ian Poling got a late reverse to close to within 10-8, but couldn’t get any near fall points and lost by that score to Adrian Giles.

At 112 pounds, Upland’s Spencer Glasheen got a takedown at the end of regulation to tie the score 7-7, but Johnny Covarrubias got a takedown 32 seconds into overtime for a 9-7 win. Covarrubias’ win gave Alta Loma a 40-24 lead and clinched the victory.

“Where they are strong, we’re very young,” Irwin said. “That makes it very tough. And they’ve got some depth so they can move guys up and still be strong.”

“I think we’re wrestling very well right now,” Guenther said.

Guenther’s teams have been traditionally strong dual teams, and he frequently weighs in extra wrestlers and strategically decides late who will wrestle at each weight.

This time, Guenther didn’t weigh in any extra wrestlers, so there was little mystery for Irwin. But as much at Irwin tried to fiddle with his lineup to engineer favorable matchups, it was not enough to close the gap.

Pete Marshall started his career as a freelancer for The Sun in 1991, then later was hired full time by the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin in 1995. Since then he has covered a variety of sports for the Daily Bulletin and The Sun, primarily high school sports and minor league baseball. He's been doing it long enough that he's now covering the children of student-athletes he covered when he first started.

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